In many industrial processes, undesirable excess heat is removed by the use of heat exchangers in which water is used as the heat exchange fluid. The term "cooling water" is applied wherever water is circulated through equipment to absorb and carry away heat. This definition includes air conditioning systems, engine jacket systems, refrigeration systems as well as the multitude of industrial heat exchange operations, such as found in oil refineries, chemical plants, steel mills, etc.
The use of a recirculating system, in which a cooling tower, spray pond, evaporative condenser and the like serve to dissipate heat, permits great economy in makeup water requirements. In a cooling water system employing a cooling tower, water is circulated through the heat transfer equipment and subsequently cooled by evaporation of a part of the circulating water as the water is passed over the cooling tower. By virtue of the evaporation which takes place in cooling, the dissolved solids and suspended solids in the water become concentrated. The circulating water becomes more concentrated than the makeup water due to this evaporation loss.
"Cycles of concentration" is the phrase employed to indicate the degree of concentration of the circulating water as compared with the makeup. For example, 2.0 cycles of concentration indicates the circulating water is twice the concentration of the makeup water. To maintain the circulating water at some given cycles of concentration, a portion of the circular water must be physically removed from the system and replaced with fresh makeup water to maintain a steady-state condition. The circulating water removed from the system is referred to as "blowdown".
Preventing the corrosion of industrial heat transfer equipment is essential to the efficient and economical operation of a cooling system. Excessive corrosion of metallic surfaces can cause the premature failure of process equipment, necessitating downtime for the replacement or repair of the equipment.
Additionally, the buildup of corrosion products on heat transfer surfaces impedes water flow and reduces heat transfer efficiency, thereby limiting production or requiring down time for cleaning, and can also cause rapid localized corrosion and subsequent penetration of metallic surfaces through the formation of differential oxygen concentration cells. The localized corrosion resulting from differential oxygen cells originating from deposits is commonly referred to as "under-deposit corrosion". "Galvanic corrosion" can also occur if the corrosion products include metals different from that of the metal surface.
With the advent of strict Federal, State and Municipal Environmental controls and water shortages throughout the country, recirculating cooling water systems were, in many cases, forced to operate at higher cycles of concentration to reduce both water consumption and the volume of blowdown from the system. As the cycles of concentration increase, corrosion problems become more severe because of the higher dissolved salt concentrations that are encountered. Higher cycles will also increase the concentration of corrosive agents that are not present in the makeup water, but are introduced during the course of the cooling operation. These may include, for example, hypochlorite ions added for their biocidal action, sulfide ions present through process leaks, sulfate or chloride ions added as their hydrogen acids to control pH, or corrosion products that are dissolved, dispersed or redeposited throughout the system.